Reclaim My Life (20 page)

He hoped she’d eat in Jasper and not show up at Boyd’s, because he’d prefer sitting with Elizabeth. Tonight she’d said she needed to talk to him, and he needed to discuss a few things with her, too, starting with why she left a large university to teach in a tiny liberal arts college, possibly taking a cut in pay. And why could he find no record of a tragic fire claiming her family approximately
seventeen months, three weeks, and one day
ago? Finally, why would she hide her previous training as a veterinarian?

No longer could he chalk it up to personal curiosity. One woman was dead, one was missing, and the two remaining friends could be in danger. If Elizabeth’s past had followed her to Drake Springs, he needed to know.

He drove straight down County Road 471 to the diner and parked in the Women’s Club parking lot across the street. Elizabeth’s Chevy S-10 was parked parallel in front of Boyd’s Diner. As he walked across the street, the tiny detail that had nagged at his subconscious for three nights surfaced.
Sophie
.

He’d entered the house Saturday with Elizabeth and hollered for his dog. Elizabeth’s response hadn’t registered with him at the time, but she’d seemed confused, as if he’d been addressing her, not the dog.
What did you call me?
No matter how he replayed the scene, it made no sense.
Sophie
sounded nothing like
Elizabeth
. Maybe it meant nothing, but it aroused his suspicion enough that he intended to test her.

Inside the diner, he spotted her in the back corner booth talking with Lorraine, who stood by the table. Since the table was bare, he decided Elizabeth must have just arrived.

He slid into the seat across from her. “Good mornin’, darlin’.”

“Why, good mornin’, Wil,” Lorraine answered for Elizabeth, then chuckled and winked. “I’ll bring your coffee along with her tea.” She sashayed to the counter.

Dressed in her usual colors of tan and brown, Elizabeth gave him a cockeyed smile. “Hi.”

“How did the auditions go yesterday?”

“Great. We filled the cast, although a few actors will play multiple, minor roles. We found the perfect Ariel, a freshman who hasn’t even taken her first Shakespeare class. But she nailed the airy spirit.” She stopped and flinched. “I’m sorry. I can be a bore.”

“Hey, do I look bored?”

She peered at him for a few seconds, then nodded once. “Definitely.”

“You could never bore me, not even talking Shakespeare.”

Lorraine set their hot beverages on the table. “Wil, honey, the only Shakespeare you understand is the rod-and-reel variety.” She cackled at her joke as she whipped out her order pad.

Elizabeth grinned. “She has your number, Sheriff.”

“You bet I do, sugar. Why, shoot, I’ve known Wil since his mama carted him around on her hip.”

“I’ll have two eggs over medium with a biscuit and sausage patty.” He didn’t want to listen to stories about his mother, especially in front of Elizabeth.

“Me, too.” Elizabeth lifted her cup of tea. “And I’ll need a refill of tea in just a minute.”

“Sure thing.”

Elizabeth stared at her tea bag, giving it an occasional dunking. “So what’s on tap for you today?”

“I’m still working the homicide with Ronda Lou. Unfortunately, other crimes and emergencies haven’t stopped, and I have other irons in the fire. Literally. The smoke is really bad at Drake Oaks.”

“Is your property threatened?”

“Not at the moment, but we’re watching it. I may have to move Dad to Sam’s if they don’t get the fires under control. Without rain, I doubt they can extinguish the flames.”

“I always thought Florida was rainy.”

He snorted. “Sometimes it is. If that hurricane hits, we could have a flood.”

“But it would put out the Sticky Swamp fire. I guess it’s a double-edged sword.”

“I watched the tropical update with Dad last night. Even if the forecast models are correct and it hits inland at St. Mary’s, it won’t be here for five or six more days. I don’t want to think about what six days without rain will do to that fire.”

Elizabeth frowned, then took a cautious drink of her tea. “Other than stocking up on drinking water and stuff, what else should I be doing?”

“If ordered to evacuate, you leave. Do not pass go; do not collect two hundred dollars.”

She took another sip of her tea. “Evacuate where?”

“There’ll be public shelters, or you can stay in a hotel outside of the danger zone.”

“Well, as Grandma used to say, don’t borrow trouble. I’ll worry about it if it happens.”

Wil nodded. He wasn’t one to borrow trouble, either. Except concerning Elizabeth. She’d be worth any trouble if he could get close to her. Last night she’d let him get close. Very close. He’d had to flee before he lost his head and pushed his advantage. As skittish as she’d been the past few months, he surely didn’t want to spook her now, when he’d made considerable progress. But he wanted more than physical closeness. He wanted her to share her secrets with him.

“Here you go,” Lorraine said, handing Elizabeth a metal teapot.

“Thanks.” Elizabeth shook her head when Lorraine offered her a teabag. “This one’s still good.”

“Boyd won’t charge you for an extra tea bag, darlin’.”

She looked at him with the cockeyed smile again. “I don’t believe in wastefulness.”

“Good to know, Sophie.” He slipped the name in, watching her for any reaction.

She stopped dunking her tea bag for just a second, but long enough for his trained eye to register. “Your dog is thrifty, too?” she asked.

Quick-minded, he’d hand her that. “Sorry, I meant to say Elizabeth.”

She frowned. “So you’re confusing me with your dog? Thanks a lot.”

“Hey, she’s a gorgeous blonde, too.”

“Yeah, but hers is natural—” She clamped her mouth shut. Oops. Judging from her reddening face, Elizabeth hadn’t intended to reveal that fact.

“So what color do you hide beneath that shade?”

She smiled at him, too brightly and too cheerfully. “Mostly gray. Now you know. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Liar, liar
. Lots of women tinted their hair. But Elizabeth was hiding more than her roots, he’d bet his next election on it.

Lorraine served their breakfasts, and their eating prevented further talk. He’d rattled Elizabeth by calling her Sophie. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have slipped up about the hair. With any other woman, he’d blame pride for the dye job. Not Elizabeth. She rarely wore makeup and dressed like a monk. She colored her hair, but not out of vanity. He’d bet his next election on that, too.

Wil finished eating and declined a coffee refill. He really needed to get to his office. “I’ll see you tonight. What kind of pizza?”

“Surprise me.”

The short drive past the County Courthouse to the sheriff’s office building took longer than usual because of school traffic. With cooler temperatures, Wil could go back to parking behind the courthouse and walking to the diner—assuming either fire or hurricane didn’t force the town to evacuate. He finally parked and entered his office, expecting to find Ronda Lou waiting at his desk. She wasn’t, thankfully, so he had a bit of breathing room to attend to other departmental business.

He headed toward the dispatch room, finding Rebecca Gibbons on duty. “Good morning, Becky. Find me Fred Fischer, please.”

“Will do. You want to see him?”

“Yeah, have him come in to my office.”

She handed him the call log, then radioed Chief Deputy Fischer. Scanning the list, Wil found nothing that required his attention. Property crimes, drunk and disorderly, and one Peeping Tom that turned out to be a fraternity prank. Lots of calls reporting smoke. He returned the log, then went to the locker room in search of more coffee.

His mind on Elizabeth, he yo-yoed between daydreaming about her kiss and worrying about her trustworthiness. His mind and his heart were convinced that she was the woman for him, everything he could ask for. But his reliable detective instincts warned him that maybe she was too good to be true.

Holding a cup of hot coffee, he rounded the corner and nearly collided with Fred, his sixty-year-old chief deputy, a guy with the most seniority in the department. “That was quick.”

“I was on my way in, anyhow. So what’s up?”

Wil ushered him into his office and offered him a seat. “You picked up Ralph Sapp the other night for trying to break into the Dairy Queen, right?”

Fred snorted. “That’s a regular occurrence. He’s not a good burglar, you know.”

Wil told him about Elizabeth’s concerns. “Do you think he’s capable of violence?”

“I have a hard time picturing anybody being afraid of Ralph. I’ve known him since he was born. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Not intentionally, maybe, but he doesn’t know his own strength.”

Fred held up his hands. “Now, wait a minute. You can’t be suggesting that Ralph has the cunning to put a gun to a woman’s head and fire, then dump her body and hide her minivan. Not to mention, wiping it clean of prints. Besides, Ralph can’t drive. He rides his beach cruiser all over the north end of town. You know that.”

“You’re right. Ralph could fit the profile except for one thing—his mental disability. But keep an eye on him, will you? His single-mindedness seems to frighten some people.”

“I’ve always kept an eye on him. His mama depends on me to keep him from getting locked up.”

Fred knew most of the people in Foster County. He’d been considered heir apparent for the job of county sheriff, but he’d declined efforts to put him on the ballot. After the death of his wife, he’d seemed to lose his ambition. Or maybe he preferred to stay second-in-command. Whatever his story, Fred was the best lawman around. He was also the closest thing to a mentor Wil had.

“Didn’t you go to school with his mother?”

“Libby graduated a year ahead of me. Married some loser who ran out on her as soon as he realized Ralph wasn’t right. The bastard.”

Wil let the subject drop. “You said you were on the way in.”

“Yep. We found something dragging the Suwannee. May not be important but…” He shrugged.

“What, for God’s sake?”

“Pieces of a twenty-two caliber pistol. And it ain’t been in the water very long.”

Wil’s pulse quickened. This could be the break in the case they needed. “Could you make out the serial number?”

Fred’s smile widened. “Oh yeah, loud and clear. That woman from FDLE said we should turn it over to the FBI to trace.”

“By
that woman
, you mean Special Agent Buckner? Where is she?”

“She’s out at Reesor’s dock. Said she wanted to look at the scene where the body was found.”

Damn, did the woman ever sleep? When she’d said she wanted to look at the scene where the body was recovered, she must have intended for Wil to meet her at Reesor’s dock. “I better get out there.”

An hour later, Wil followed Ronda Lou’s Crown Victoria back to the station. He’d promised her lunch at Boyd’s, but all he wanted was for the workday to end so he could share a pizza with Elizabeth. She had something to tell him, she’d said. Was she finally ready to confide in him?

He couldn’t help feeling encouraged about his prospects with her, as if they’d moved up another step on the relationship ladder. Sure, he’d kissed her, but more was at stake than getting to first base with her. He wanted to know all about her. Elizabeth remained an enigma to him, though. His detective skills and contacts had failed him in finding any trace of her before she’d moved to Drake Springs from Athens, Georgia. Until he solved the mystery of her past, he couldn’t feel close to her.

As he’d expected, Ronda Lou wore comfortable shoes and her tan uniform, so he suggested they walk to the diner. On the way, they speculated on the possibility that the pieces of the pistol found in the Suwannee belonged to Cathleen’s killer. By the time they reached Boyd’s, Wil had moved onto the subject of Kris Knight’s disappearance.

“Sheriff, I’m afraid you aren’t looking for a missing person. You and your department need to consider the possibility of a second homicide victim.”

He ushered her inside Boyd’s and to the only vacant table, situated in the center of the diner. He didn’t think it wise to continue that line of talk in public. “Let’s talk more about that after lunch.”

Ronda Lou lowered her voice. “Are you looking for a body?”

“If it’s in the river, we would’ve seen it. We’ve had a team out every day, at least until they fished out the twenty-two.”

She nodded. “All right. We’ll talk more later.”

They each ordered a sandwich, which they ate under the curious eye of Lorraine. He figured Lorraine wanted to see if theirs was a working lunch or something else. Lorraine had been playing matchmaker between him and Elizabeth for weeks. Subtlety wasn’t her strong suit. But she didn’t need to worry about the blonde competing for his attention. Ronda Lou wasn’t his type.

They paid and walked back. Wil’s eyes burned from the smoke that darkened the sky. “That fire’s either getting worse or the winds have shifted.”

“The wind did shift. I checked with the fire and rescue captain on my way into town. Actually, the fire is almost contained. The crews finished digging the fire trench, so it just has to burn itself out.”

“I hadn’t heard that update. Thanks.”

“Do you have property in the evacuation zone?”

“No, but close to the eastern side of Sticky Swamp. My dad is in a wheelchair. I’ll need to move him if the flames jump the fire line.”

“Between the firestorm and the hurricane, I’m eager to head back to Tallahassee, out of harm’s way.”

“I don’t blame you. But you’ve been a big help, and I appreciate your insights.”

“Call if a second victim turns up, okay?”

“You bet. You think it’s a repeat offender?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s nothing scientific, just a gut feeling.”

They’d reached the corner of Court and Main. “Here we are. Let me ask you one more question about the profile. Could the offender be mentally challenged?”

She glanced at him and frowned. “Why? Do you have a person in mind?”

“We have a man in town who seems harmless. He has the body of a forty-year-old and the mind of a six-year-old, tops. But he’s very demanding at times. He makes people who don’t know him uncomfortable.”